First Sunday of Lent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Led by the Spirit into the desert… Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights.” I have come to learn and rely on God and his Word and his Spirit to guide me and lead me through this path of everlasting life. To be honest, left to myself, without a good sense of direction or discernment, I would find myself in situations and conversations that would lead me to sadness, hurt, disappointment and distrust.  Left to our own judgement and knowledge and trying to navigate through life on our own without God’s help will leave us unhappy, dissatisfied, and lost.  Without God’s support, we may want to ask ourselves, where am I going and plan to be if not led by the Spirit and the way God prefers for me?  God is the way of truth and the only way and the only life that guarantees us eternal happiness. So where are you going? Where are you heading? We often do not want anyone to lead us but often choose someone to imitate and follow.  This is good in the eyes of the Good Shepherd who leads us and guides us and asks us to follow and imitate him but we must be open to his Spirit and want to listen attentively to his voice and desire to go wherever the Good Shepherd goes and wherever he chooses to lead us. Our challenge is to come to know and to trust God’s way is better than our way.  God’s way is the only way.  In his great mercy, God chose to free Israel from physical slavery and captivity, then he led them into the desert to free them from their slavery and captivity to sin. God peeled back their physical attachments and invited them to be detached from sin and to become more dependent and spiritually attached to God.  Lent is a time and invitation to follow God into the desert and allow God to perform the same miracle for us.  Cardinal Manning’s prayer for light is a good way to start the journey. “O Holy Spirit of God, take me as your disciple. Guide me, illuminate me, sanctify me.  Bind my hands, that they may do no evil. Cover my eyes, that they may see it no more. Sanctify my heart, that evil may not dwell within me. You are my God. You are my guide. Whatever you forbid me, I will renounce. And whatever you command me, in your strength I will do. Lead me then unto the fullness of your truth.” Amen

 

Reflections from the Heart – October 15, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - October 15, 2023
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!” The word ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 8, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - October 8, 2023
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Let me now sing of my friend.” As years pass, we seem ...

Reflections from the Heart – October 1, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - October 1, 2023
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.” ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 24, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - September 24, 2023
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Intimate ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 17, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - September 17, 2023
Twenty-fourthSunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.”  Scripture ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 10, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - September 10, 2023
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the ...

Reflections from the Heart – September 3, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - September 3, 2023
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.” What is ...

Reflections from the Heart – August 27, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - August 27, 2023
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your ...

Reflections from the Heart – August 20, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - August 20, 2023
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo "Lord, help me."  Prayer is such a simple thing, really and we ...

Reflections from the Heart – August 13, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - August 13, 2023
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo “I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for his word.”  I ...

Reflections from the Heart – August 6, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - August 6, 2023
Transifuguration of the Lordby Fr. Ivan Olmo Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are ...

Reflections from the Heart – July 30, 2023

Reflections from the Heart - July 30, 2023
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Timeby Fr. Ivan Olmo "Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes."  The word honest ...